Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Uganda - No love lost for a country that expelled her family

TOP OF THE WORLD: The hikers on top of Mt Elgon. Ms Jiwa is fifth from right in the second row. PHOTO ISAAC KASAMANI

Kampala

She was not even in her mother’s womb when her family – together with at least 60,000 other Indians – was ordered to leave Uganda within 90 days in 1972.

But for Jazzmin Jiwa, now a 30-year-old journalist based in Canada, the historical bond that her family has with Uganda could not be broken even by those circumstances.

Late last year, Ms Jiwa was one of 42 tourists from Europe, USA and Canada who travelled to Uganda for a 10-day mountain climbing expedition dubbed Hike4Life and facilitated by the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).